For weeks now speculation about theBatman vs. Supermanmovie has been focused on the hero side of things. The casting of Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman caused a big stir, and rumors since then have pointed to heroes like Green Lantern and Cyborg possibly being played by the likes of Denzel Washington or Dwayne Johnson. Needless to say that’s kept the fanbase occupied, in terms of discussion topics.

Before all the hero rumors, however, focus was mostly on the villain of the film, who has always been assumed to be Lex Luthor. That rumor thread has run so long and encompassed so many actors – Bryan Cranston, Mark Strong, Joaquin Phoenix – and again, Denzel and Dwayne Johnson – that fans are just taking solace in the fact that we are getting A Lex Luthor, without so much worry about WHO it is.

But now someone is claiming to be in the know about the official casting – and they’re claiming it is Cranston. Watch what Amasian News has to say about the casting:

http://youtu.be/AC-Lq9ub0uo

If you believe their sources, the oldest Batman vs. Supermanvillain rumor may turn out truest, who knew?

I, for one,am not cheering for this particular casting (I’ll need to see it confirmed first before I fully buy in, as well). Cranston is a great character actor and deserves this level of success (and the money they claim he’s being paid – he’s been working long and hard in the biz) – but I don’t know if his presence is what will make for the best Batman vs. Superman movie.

Sure, people are imagining seeing Walter White from Breaking Bad as the nefarious mastermind villain whose intellect rivals Superman’s brawn – it’s an easy association to make. But when hearing names like Denzel Washington (or especially Joaquin Phoenix), a lot of the excitement was admittedly over the thought of a different and more subtle take on Lex.

We’ve discussed it often on the site and our podcast: A Lex Luthor who is charming and intelligent and sophisticated business mogul in public, but ruthless psychopath demagogue behind closed doors? That’s a Lex we have yet to see, and the more pronounced bi-polar shifts of Mr. White/Heisenberg weren’t as attractive as the slow burn descents of Denzel in Man on Fire or Joaquin in The Master.

Still, we can’t complain too much; if Denzel is of age and physique to play Lex, so is Cranston, and both actors are great at what they do and would be far from the worst picks for the role. In short: Lex is in good hands if any of this rumoring turns out to be true.

Batman Costume Confirmed?

The other part of Amasian’s report claims that Ben Affleck’s Batman costume will be based on the design by famous comic book artist Alex Ross, whose work you can check out below:

Should THIS rumor be true, it would fit in line with Kevin Smith’s previous hints that the new costume was a piece of classic Batman comic design brought to life onscreen – as well as with our own Andrew Dyce’s prediction that the Alex Ross/Jim Lee design (final photo in the gallery above) would be the most likely Batman Costume Snyder would use. (That Screen Rant crystal ball is always ahead of other sites’ “inside sources…”)

However, if Batman is wearing his underwear on the outside – as seen in the Alex Ross design – then could that Superman costume re-design we heard about actually be more toward the more classic look and away from the collared armor look of the modern New 52 era? Even if both heroes have their underoos on the inside, I don’t think many people would complain if the vintage look made a comeback.